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Palestinians display one of world's largest mosaic floor

Xinhua, October 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities displayed Tuesday one of the largest mosaic floor in the world, launching a two-year long renovation project to attract tourism in the West Bank city of Jericho.

The floor locates in the Islamic archaeological site of Hisham's Palace in Jericho, which was built during the Ummayad era in the first half of eighth century.

The mosaic floor covers about 827 square meters of the palace's audience hall and a large bath. Its complex geometric patterns featuring constructivism patterns compose the overall mosaic, demonstrating the skills in creating the piece of art.

The audience hall and the bath were destroyed in a severe earthquake in 749, but other areas of the site stood until the tenth century. The mosaic, along with the remains of the palace, was discovered and excavated in the 1930s.

Palestinian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Rula Maaya told Xinhua that a glass ceiling will start to be built next month, allowing visitors to examine the beautiful art piece through the glass cover. The project is scheduled to be finished at the end of 2018.

"I think its importance lies in that the number of tourists to Palestine will multiply," said Maaya. Endit